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Worthington Sesquicentennial History

Om2146_1859627_001

WORTHINGTON
SESQUICENTENNIAL
OCTOBER 5-11, 1953
1953
AN
HISTORICAL
SKETCH
OF
WORTHINGTON
[Illustration]
AN
HISTORICAL
SKETCH
OF
WORTHINGTON
1803 - 1953
[Illustration]
A Glimpse of the Worthington Business District in 1850
[Illustration]
Main Street -Still Horse and Buggy Days
TWO
An Historical Sketch
of
Worthington
THE VILLAGE of Worthington located on the banks of the Olentangy River ten
miles north of the center of Columbus is steeped in the historical and traditional
lore of the Northwest Territory. James Kilbourne is the central figure in the be-
ginning and early growth of the village. Kilbourne and his friend Nathaniel Little
traveled in the spring and summer of 1802 over the section of the northwest territory
to be known as Ohio from Marietta on the Ohio River through Cincinnati, Chilli-
cothe, Circleville, Zanesville and Franklinton to the spot where our village now
stands. They were impressed by the beauty of the spot and the extreme fertility of
the surrounding country side. They returned in early fall to Granby, Connecticut and
Kilbourne reported their findings in these words -quote- "In one place I saw one
thousand acres of the best clear meadow land I ever saw in any place whatever.
Plums and crabapples are abundant - the plums are very palatable also quantities
of grapevines. We found black walnut, hickory, ash, honey locust, hackberry, white-
wood etc. which never grows on any but first rate land. The only drawback is ague
fever which makes it sickly to a considerable degree." Slavery was forever forbidden
from what was to be the state of Ohio in November 1802. Immediately following in
December, 1802, the Scioto Land Company, a group of forty men headed by Kil-
bourne was organized and decided to buy this land. They bought 16,000 acres of land
located in what is now Clinton and Sharon townships as well as some in Delaware
County for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre making the total cost twenty
thousand dollars. Each member paid five hundred dollars for which he received a
town lot of 3/4 of an arce and a farm of 98 3/4 acres.
THE COMPANY carefully planned their village on paper before starting for
their new home. They decided on two north-south roads and one east-west road.
One of the north-south roads was named the Whetstone River Road after the river
by the same name. It is now called the Olentangy River Road again after the same
river by the same name. The other north-south road was first called the Main Road,
then the Northern Turnpike and now High Street. The east-west road was called
first State Road, then the Post Road, because it was to be used as a mail route from
Baltimore, Maryland to St. Louis, Missouri and now is called Granville Road or
route 161. At the intersection of Main and State Roads, four village lots were set
aside for the village green. The green was entirely surrounded by maple trees. There
were one hundred sixty lots platted as the village bounded on the north by North
Street, the south by South Street, the east by Morning Street and the west by Evening
Street. Our New England forefathers were so foresighted that they set aside one
hundred acres on the north side of State Road west of Evening Street for public
school purposes and one hundred acres on the south side of the same road for the
use of the Episcopal Church. These two farms still exist as such and are being used
by the church and the community for public schools.
IN SEPTEMBER 1803, eleven families left their Connecticut homes for their new
Ohio homes. The family names are recognizable in our community today. The
heads of the families as well as 4 men unmarried were James Kilbourne, Abner P.
Pinney, Adna Bristol, Wm. Thompson, Zophart Topping, Glass Cochran, Israel P.
Case, Ezra Griswold, Alexander Morrison Jr. and Levi Pinney. James Kilbourne
was the leader of the group but he and his wife Lucy Fitch Kilbourne were forced
to stop a week in Washington County, Pennsylvania where their sixth child, a daugh-
ter named Orrel was born. They remained only ten days in their covered wagon
before starting on the road again. Ezra Griswold and his wife Ruth with their seven
THREE
children arrived first at their new home on October 29, 1803. The village was officially
named Worthington at a Christmas party held in the school-church building on
December 26, 1803. The entire community was present. Ten toasts were given by
different members of the community concerning the good things of their new home.
James Kilbourne gave a toast saying - quote "The name of our town shall be called
Worthington to perpetuate the name of our worthy friend and benefactor - Thomas
Worthington." Thomas Worthington later became a State Senator and the Governor
of Ohio.
WHEN THE eleven families arrived, twelve log cabins had been completed by
advance men from Connecticut. One of these cabins larger than the rest located
on the northeast of the village green was used as the school house during the week,
as a community house on week ends and as the Episcopal Church on Sundays. Epis-
copal Services were held in this building on the first Sunday after the arrival of the
settlers.
[Illustration]
Main Street
[Illustration]
West State Street - A View Across the Olentangy Valley
FOUR
THE CHURCHES
Even though the community held its first church service on the first Sunday after
their arrival, the First Articles of Agreement for the Organization of the Protestant
Episcopal St. John's Church in Worthington and Parts Adjacent were executed on
February 6, 1804. The congregation of the church met in the log cabin already
described and from 1811-1831, they met in the second floor of the academy building.
James Kilbourne ministered to the church for several years. Philander Case became
the Rector of the Church in 1817 and even though he became the first Episcopal
Bishop of Ohio in 1818, he served the St. John parish until 1823. George Griswold,
[Illustration]
St. John's Episcopal Cburch - Oldest West of the Allegbeny Mountains
son of Ezra, kept a day book for the Inn of which we will hear later has several
entries in his book concerning the church. The first entry was dated September 25,
1827 and the last entry dated January 23, 1831 read - quote "St. John's Church memo
- we held services in the new church for the first time." The original church build-
ing has been changed but little - an addition was added to the east of the building
to make the chancel deeper and the tower was restored like the original in 1930.
The beautiful building still stands on its original site inviting the community to its
cool, quiet, beautiful and sacred interior.
The Worthington Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1808. Very
little is known concerning the church until 1811 when a fervent camp meeting was
held on a factory site on what is now west South Street. From then on services were
held in homes, barns and in the woods until the first church was built in 1823. The
first church was located on the corner of what is now Hartford and South Streets.
The building faced South. The second church building was built on High Street
near where the present church now stands. It was completed in 1864. The present
beautiful, modern building was completed February 7, 1926. Among the many noted
ministers of this active church are Charles Elliott, Stephen M. Merrell and Dr. Frank
Gunsaulus. Dr. Gunsaulus was such a forceful preacher that hundreds were often
turned away from the Sunday service. Dr. Gunsaulus later became President of
Armour Institute, Chicago, Illinois.
FIVE
[Illustration]
Worthington Methodist Church - Old Seminary Building to the Right
[Illustration with caption]
The Old Presbyterian Church Worthington O,
SIX
One June 18, 1816 eleven people met in the old Peter Barker house on North
High Street and organized the Presbyterian Church of Worthington. Services were
held in many places as the upper room of the academy building (rented for twenty
dollars per year), in a blacksmith shop and in a small school building. The first
church building was completed in April 1830. In Highland Hurlburd's, the first
pastor's notes-we read-quote "The Presbyterians are building a house which is
small and plain and looks like a barn." The building was remodeled in 1842 when
a steeple and balcony were added. The church has had many and noted pastors, some
of the most noted are - the Rev. James Hogue, who was the first Synodical Head of
the Presbyterian Churches in Ohio and Thomas Woodrow, grandfather of former
President Woodrow Wilson. The present beautiful church building of true New
England architecture was dedicated on January 2, 1927. An educational wing con-
taining many Sunday School rooms as well as a wonderful family room named the
Woodrow Room was completed and dedicated in October 1952..
In 1897 a group organized the Bethel A.M.E. church. The meetings were held
in the homes of members and then in the town hall. In 1914 the present structure
was completed and the name of the organization became the St. John A.M.E. Church.
The last beautiful church to be added to our village is the Seventh Day Adventist
Church located on Griswold Street. The congregation was organized as the Worthing-
ton Seventh Day Adventist Church on July 17, 1920. Dr. George T. Harding Jr.
was the instigator of its organization. Services were held for the first time in the
new church on Thanksgiving Day 1951. The authentic New England architecture of
the church building makes it a beautiful and fitting addition to our village.
The small village and the present growing community has always been known
for its religious feelings and faithfulness. The five churches have given the village
this serenity and security in the past, the present and we anticipate the future.
THE SCHOOLS
Education was uppermost in the minds of our forefathers. A subscription school
was started in the winter months of 1803 in the cabin mentioned before. Thomas
Phelps was the teacher for a few weeks but spring work began and Miss Clarissa
Thompson became the first real teacher of the school. Later a frame school building
was built to the northeast edge of the village green. The present town hall was built
for a school building in 1856. A two story four room brick building was built on the
northeast side of the village green in 1875. In 1893 a one floor plan high school
building was added to the school system to the east of the elementary building and
on the same plat. In January 1915 a new high school building was opened on the
acreage set aside by our forefathers for public school purposes. This building with
much modernizing is our present junior high school. The beautiful elementary build-
ing located on the original elementary building plat was completed in 1938. The
New England architecture of this building gives to the center of the village a striking
grandeur that our community thoroughly enjoys. The acreage to the west is being de-
veloped into a beautiful campus for the junior high school already mentioned and the
new senior high school now being built. The central portion of the building which
mainly houses the academic program of the school, the library and the cafeteria is now
completed. The health and art wing including a gymnasium seating 2400 is in the pro-
cess of being constructed. Soon another wing for vocational and home arts laboratories
will be added. The village looks to the future with this acreage as well as a campus
for the educational needs of the community, the grounds are being carefully and
beautifully laid out for a general recreational program. The early fathers surely
planned well for the public schools of a growing community a century and a half
later.
SEVEN
[Illustration]
Worthington High Scbool
[Illustration]
The Worthington Female Seminary - Built in 1842
EIGHT
HIGHER EDUCATION IN WORTHINGTON
The history of education in our village would not be complete without the story
of higher education. Colonel Kilbourne went before the legislature in 1807 and re-
quested a charter for the Worthington ACADEMY. The charter was granted in
February 1808. A two story brick building was constructed on the land to the north-
east of the village square approximately where our library now stands. The academy
was so successful that in 1819, the assembly granted permission for the academy to
become a college with the right of granting degrees. Reverend Philander Chase who
had been the Principal of the Academy became the first President of Worthington
College. Reverend Chase became the Episcopal Bishop in 1820 and his son Philander
Chase Jr. became president of the college but lacking the prestige of his noted
father, the Worthington College closed in 1823. Salmon P. Chase, nephew of Bishop
Chase and later Governor of Ohio and then the Chief justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States was a student at the college from 1820-1822.
The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio started a Theological Seminary by an act of the
legislature in 1824. Bishop Chase was made President. The Seminary was located
in a large house which is located on Lincoln Avenue. The Seminary grew even though
there were never many theological students for example out of an enrollment of five
hundred only two were students of theology. In 1826 the Seminary became Kenyon
College and was moved to Gambier, Ohio in 1828.
Quoting from the newspaper dated October 14, 1830 we read - quote "By and
with the consent of the Reformed Medical Society of the United States, the new
Reformed Medical Institution has been located in Worthington, an interesing and
flourishing town on the Whetstone River eight miles north of Columbus on the
Northern Tunrpike. There will be attached to the institution a dispensary for analyz-
ing and preparing for Vegetable Medicine." The college was located in the academy
building. Due to many unfavorable comments from non-resident groups concerning
the type of botanical medicine, the school closed it doors in 1840 and was established
in Cincinnati in 1842. The Cincinnati College of Medicine is still flourishing. Mr. I.
G. Jones, the Father of Elizabeth Jones Deshler donor of our library building, was
the first Dean of the medical college. In June 1953 - a plaque commemorating the
founding of this college was placed in the library by the National Society of Vege-
tative Medicine.
The Worthington Female Seminary was officially opened in the present Masonic
Lodge building in 1838. The seminary was the first legally authorized female seminary
of the Methodist Church in Ohio. The Methodist Conference had the seminary build-
ing which is now known as the seminary apartments built in 1842. The seminary was
very succesful often having as many as one hundred and fifty students. The seminary
was closed in 1867 when the church gave its financial assistance to the coeducational
college located in Delaware and known as Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Ohio Central Normal School was opened in the seminary building in 1871.
Kindergarten, primary, intermediate and secondary teachers were trained here. Again
the school was very successful with as many as one hundred students. With the
closing of the doors of the Normal School in 1880, any further attempts to operate
an institution of higher learning in Worthington proper came to an end.
However the Pontifical College of Josephinum was moved from Columbus in
1929 to its present location two miles north of Worthington on High Street. The
Josephinum College began in Columbus in 1894. The present large and beautiful
college building was completed in 1931.
NINE
SESQUICENTENNIAL WEEK
Program
Monday - October 5
ARMED SERVICES DAY
Flag Raising Ceremonies 10:00 A.M.
Historical Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Evening Pageant-The Whetstone Venture
Tuesday - October 6
CLUBS' DAY
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Music Club Program (Elementary School Auditorium) 8:00 P.M.
No Admission charge.
Wednesday - October 7
FRATERNAL ORDERS DAY
Lodge Rooms Open-Historic Masonic Building builded 1820.
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Evening Pageant
Thursday - October 8
SCHOOLS' DAY
Visitation and Exhibits.
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Friday - October 9
BUSINESS DAY
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Saturday - October 10
GOOD NEIGHBORS' DAY
Homecoming Visitors
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Evening Pageant
Sunday - October 11
HOME COMING DAY
Homecoming Services in all Churches
Lecture - Pageant Grounds - 2:30 P.M.
Speaker - Grove Patterson - Editor of the Toledo Blade.
WINDOW DISPLAY OF ANTIQUES IN ALL STORES
DURING THE ENTIRE WEEK
TEN
THE WHETSTONE VENTURE
A Pageant
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY FRANK CORBIN
Synopsis hearted community-wide effort in pre-
senting this tribute to the men and
A panorama of the heritage that is women who founded this village one
Worthington's will be enacted on the hundred and fifty years ago.
Village Commons on the night of Octo- The picture is drawn with the bold
ber 5th, 7th, and 10th, at 8:00 P.M. strokes of the landscape artist, rather
The dramatic chronicle will portray than the detail of the miniature painter,
the history of our town, from its founding to catch the scope and breadth of the
in 1803 by Colonel James Kilbourne, or- town's unique history. The employment
ganizer and leader of the Scioto Com- of narration, interwoven with choral
pany, who led one hundred men, women, speech and song, is used in the presen-
and children into the wilderness of the tation of the story.
Ohio Country to lay the cornerstone of Frank Corbin, in writing this historical
the edifice that today is Worthington, and chronicle, has chosen to call it "The
here set alight the brave little cultural Whetstone Venture." While the original
spark that was to wax and strengthen un- group of pioneers called themselves "The
til its flame became a beacon dispelling Scioto Company," their venture was not
the illiteracy of the frontier. The town on the Scioto, but on the Whetstone
of Worthington was for years a veritable River, the name which our forefathers
Athens of the wilderness, and one of the gave to the pleasant stream which we
important cultural, educational, ecclesias- know today by its original Indian name,
tic, and industrial centers of the new Olentangy.
State - an achievement unique in the Emphasis will be placed on those three
annals of Ohio. great symbols in the founding of Worth-
Important events in the town's first ington: The Cross, The School, and The
century will be depicted: the arrival of Flag. The theme underlying the entire
the pioneers, the founding of the first production is derived from the founda-
Church, the first school, the first wedding, tion upon which Worthington was built;
the first Fourth of July, Muster Day on first, our fore-fathers' firm belief in God,
the Village Green, the Indian scare of second, their passionate love of country,
1812, President Monroe's visit in 1817, and third, their earnest desire for learning
and our forefathers' firm conviction in the and enlightenment.
ideals of liberty and human freedom, To some extent, the story of Worthing-
culminating in the savage attrition and ton is also the story of our nation-one
sacrifice of 1861-1865. cannot be separated from the other.
A cast of over one hundred, men, Hence, "The Whetstone Venture" at-
women and children will be seen in such tempts to integrate our own particular
varied roles as Shawnee Indian braves, thread of history into the warp and woof
explorers, frontiersmen, pioneer mothers, of the national epic. Recognizing, how-
militiamen, fugitive slaves, abolitionists, ever, that if the town of Worthington
and Civil War belles. Some of the his- could have resulted only because it has
toric characters represented will include been a part of a great and mighty nation,
General William Henry Harrison, Presi- conversely the nation has become great
dent James Monroe, Colonel James Kil- because it is the aggregate of many,
bourne, Ezra Griswold, and Bishop Phil- many Worthingtons. The power and the
ander Chase. Even Uncle Sam will be glory that is the United States of Amer-
present to help us commemorate our Ses- ica, its principles of Liberty, Equality, and
quicentennial anniversary. justice, are but the reflection of the virtue
The Worthington Players, with Don and the courage of its people.
Moore as General Chairman of the Com- The story of Worthington is an inte-
mittee, form the nucleus of a whole- gral part of that greater narrative.
ELEVEN
THE LIBRARY
In the same school-church-community cabin on December 23, 1803, Dr. Jonas
Stansberry from whom the Scioto Land Company purchased a part of the 16,000
acres established a small library of his own books. A quotation from the second
article of the By-Laws reads -quote "The Library shall always be kept in Worthing-
ton and each proprietor, a paying member, shall have the right to draw two volumes
whenever there are books enough-but if not-each proprietor shall draw but
one volume and the book at the time of the drawing shall be put up to the highest
bidder and the money bid paid down (if required by the meeting). No proprietor
shall draw books at any time without bidding or paying at least two cents for the
benefit of the library." It is thought that two cent fines per day for the use of over
due books from libraries originated from this article. The Stansberry was the first
library organized in Ohio. The books of this library were sold at auction and there-
fore could never be located at least as a unit. We have had a library in our village
from that day to this with only a few years at different times when library facilities
were dormant. The school board sponsored a library in the village from 1854-1860.
After the Civil War a Harpers Library of two hundred volumes was located in the
village postoffice. Since 1897 a community library has been in existence in the village.
In 1924 our library became the Worthington School District Library and so exists
today. Our present building was given to the village by Mrs. Elizabeth Jones Deshler,
the grand-daughter, of our illustrious James Kilbourne. The central portion of the
building was built in 1927 -the north and south wings were added in 1931. The
building is known as the James Kilbourne Memorial Library. The Community uses
the 23,000 volume library to such a degree that during 1953, plans to increase the size
of the building to house at least 63,000 volumes are well under way. It is believed
that the building will be enlarged in 1955.
THE MASONIC LODGE
The first eight families arriving in Worthington brought with them in 1803, a
charter from the Masonic Grand Lodge of Connecticut. They established immediately
the New England Masonic Lodge Number Four.
[Illustration]
The Ohio Masonic Charter was re-
ceived in 1808. The lodge building on
High Street was built in 1820. It is in
a fine state of preservation and but very
little change has been made in the build-
ing in these one hundred and thirty-three
years. The original altar with some of
its original decorations is still in use.
James Kilbourne was the first Worthy
Master. Around the corner from the
lodge on West New England Avenue is
a beautiful old home known as "the old
Snow house." The first Grand Chapter
of Royal Arch Masonry was organized
in this house on October 21, 1816. The
New England Masonic Lodge Number
Four is still a flourishing and active
organization. They still use the building
which is the oldest building used con-
tinuously for Masonic Lodge purposes
west of the Allegheny Mountains.
TWELVE
THE GRISWOLD INN
[Illustration]
The brick Inn built by Ezra Griswold in 1811. The bricks some of which were
made on the site were mostly brought down from Delaware on the Whetstone River.
The old brick building is located north of the village green on the east side of High
Street. The L shaped building with few exterior but many interior changes still
stands and now has a number of apartments within its walls. As an Inn the first floor
of the south wing which faces the village green contained the offices and the lobby.
The second floor of this wing was the grand ballroom with wonderful, large fireplaces
at either end. It was in this wing that the life of the village business, political and
social centered. The north wing along High Street beyond the archway was the
kitchen and dining rooms. The archway which is now bricked in was the gateway
through which the stage coaches drove to deposit their notable travellers. Such
travellers were President James Monroe, Charles Dickens and John Chapman
(Johnny Appleseed). Ezra Griswold turned the management of the inn over to his
son George. George was an original but an accurate bookeeper. A direct quotation
from his second day book dated 1823 reads quote-"July 15, 1823 A Towers-He
worked nearly all day but it rained and thundered nearly two hours. July 17, 1823 B.
Ball-You still have my plow but I suppose you do not use it steady. July 29, 1823
B. Ball You still have my plow." The Inn was used for many years and it is inter-
esting to note that no other but the Griswold family has ever owned it. One hundred
and forty two years since the Inn was built and Miss Ruth Griswold, the fourth
generation from Ezra Griswold still lives in the building.
THE TOWN HALL
The building we so often speak of as the Town Hall was built by the school
board for a four room school in 1856. It was sold by the board to the town in 1870
for $2500.00 The lower room has been used as a hall since. It was in this hall that
many New England town meetings were held. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Lodge (I.O.O.F.) bought the upper floor of the lodge hall in 1865. The lodge was
organized in April 16, 1855.
THE MEMORIAL BUILDING
In order to commemorate the heroic deeds of the men and women who served
from Sharon Township in World Wars I and II, the township voted millage to buy
the beautiful Wright home on East Granville Road for a Memorial. The building
to be used by the community for all types of meetings both for social and community
problems. The Memorial Building was purchased by the community in December
1946.
THIRTEEN
[Illustration]
A Shady Walk Through the Public Square
[Illustration]
Another Glimpse of Main Street and the Business Section
FOURTEEN
Interesting Details
Concerning the Village ...
West South Street, which is at present such a beautiful residential section was
at one time factory row. James Kilbourne was instrumental in organizing as well
as helping to bring several industries to Worthington. In 1811 Kilbourne organized
the Worthington Manufacturing Company of which he was the president and general
agent. The company produced woolen cloth which was sold to the government for
the army of the northwest then fighting on the Ohio frontier. Besides the woolen
factory, a tannery, a shoe shop, a cabinet shop, a grist mill and a hat factory all
operated on South Street.
The first frame house in the village was built by Ezra Griswold in 1805. It was
located across the street from where the inn now stands.
The first brick house was built by James Kilbourne in 1808. The Corbin Funeral
Home is a part of this old building.
In 1811 James Kilbourne started the first newspaper titled "The Western Intelli-
gencer". It became a part of what is now The Ohio State journal in 1814.
A mud road connected the village to Columbus until about 1840. A corduroy
road was built that year. The corduroy road was changed to a plank road in 1850.
A gravel road was built about 1875. The paved road was completed in 1921.
The Columbus, Delaware and Marion Interurban Line connected the village
to Columbus for a good many years. Service began in 1902 and was discontinued
in August 1933. The Ohio Railway Museum is located on the right of way of the
interurban line along Proprietor's Road.
A horse car line was to connect Worthington and Westerville but was completed
only as far as the general store in Flint and ran from 1899 to 1902.
The oldest tombstone found in the St. John's cemetery behind the church is that
of Captain Abner Pinney who died in 1804.
The double wedding of Polly Morrison and Abner P. Pinney, Charlotte Beach
and Levi Pinney was the first wedding solemnized in the village. The wedding took
place in the church-school building on February 10, 1804.
The back wing of the Presbyterian Church is the original church building turned
at right angles to its original position. It is brick encased and forms a Sunday School
room and the church offices. Some of the original timbers are still in use in this por-
tion of the building.
The pews in the Episcopal Church are the original ones. The carved black walnut
choir stalls are also the original ones but are not in the former position. The first
church bell rang from the St. John steeple on Christmas Day 1833.
Telephone communications between Worthington and Columbus were com-
pleted Saturday May 23, 1881.
Gas street lights were discontinued in Worthington in 1917.
The history of our village is exciting, entrancing. The growth from the small
New England village with its pure democratic government as carried on in its town
meetings to the beautiful metropolitan suburb with almost every convenience is
thrilling a'lmost beyond belief. We leave our heritage from the past, the beauties and
conveniences of the present for future generations to build as they deem wise. May
God grant them faith and power to carry on.
FIFTEEN
[Illustration]
| |
| | 3
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|-----------------------------------| |-----------------------------------|
| NORTH STREET (VILLAGE ST) |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
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| | | | | | | | | |
| |---------------| | | | | | | |
| CLEARVIEW AVE | | | /-----------| | | |
| |---------------| | | | |HARTFORD CT| | | |
| | | | | | \-----------| | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 21 | | | | | |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
4 | STAFFORD AVE (MARBLE ST) (BLANFORD ST) |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
| | | | | | |V| | |
| | |S| | | |E| | |
| | |C| |M| |R| | |
| | |O| |A| |N| | |
| | |T| 20 |I| 19 |O| | |
| | |T| |-----|N|-----| |N| | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | |S| | |---|S|---| | |S| | |
| | |T| | | |T| | | 18 |T| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
---| |---------------| |---------| |---| |---| |---------| |---------------| |---
GRANVILLE ROAD (STATE ST)
---| |---------------| |---------| |---| |---| |---------| |---------------| |---
| | | | 15 | | | | | | 16 17 | | | | 1
| | |U| | | | | | | |H| | |
|E| |N| | |---| |---| | |A| |M|
|V| |I| | | |R| |O|
|E| |O| |-----| |-----| |T| |R|
|N| |N| 14 | | |F| |N|
|I| | | 13 | | |O| |I|
|N| |S| | | |R| |N|
|G| |T| 12 | | |D| |G|
| | | | | | | | | |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
5 | NEW ENGLAND AVE (GRANBY ST) (BERLIN ST) |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
| | | | 11 | | | | | |
|S| |O| |H| 10 |S| |S|
|T| |X| |I| |T| |T|
|R| |F| |G| |R| |R|
|E| |O|---------------|H| |E| |E|
|E| |R (SHORT ST) | |E| |E|
|T| |D|---------------|S| |T| |T|
| | | | |T| 9 | | | |
| | |S| | | | | | |
| | |T| 7 | | | | | |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
6<-| SOUTH STREET (WINDSOR ST) (OLIVE ST) |
|-----------------------------------| |-----------------------------------|
8 | |
| |
| |
MAP OF WORTHINGTON
SIXTEEN
HISTORIC TOUR
MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY
1 TO 4 P.M.
1. The Memorial Building, 137 E. Granville Rd. (The Wright Home)
2. The Thomas Woodrow House, 72 E. North St.
3. The Orange Johnson House, (1816) High St. North of North St.
4. The School Farm, Evening St.
5. The Church Farm, Evening St.
6. Site of The Worthington Mfg. Co. (1811) End of South St.
7. The Elias Lewis House, 36 W. South St.
8. The Peck House (The Moose Lodge), (1816) 5939 High St.
9. The Worthington Female Seminary, (1839) 574 High St.
10. The Masonic Temple, (1820) 634 High St.
ii. The John Snow House, (1816) 41 W. New England Ave.
12. The Central Hotel, (The Worthington Inn), (1833).
13. The James Wright Building, (1820) 667 High St.
14. The James Kilbourne House, (1804) 681 High St.
15. The Demas Adams House (1818) 721 High St.
16. St. John's Espicopal Church, founded in 1804 (Built in 1830)
17. The Town Hall, (1856) E. Granville Rd.
18. The James Kilbourne Memorial Library
Site of the Worthington Academy and College, (1808).
19. The Griswold Inn, (1811) 778 High St.
20. The Tuller House, (1818) 777 High St.
21. The Brundage Tavern, N.W. Corner of High St. and Stafford Ave.
[Illustration]
SEVENTEEN
[Illustration]
First Drug Store - Corner New England Avenue and High Street
[Illustration]
The Old Snow Home - Historic in Masonic Tradition
EIGHTEEN
PATRONS
ACTIVITY CLUB
DR. AND MRS. JACK ALBRIGHT
MR. AND MRS. EVERETT ANTRIM
AULT HARDWARE
DR. R. C. BENNINGTON
BIRNIE's DRUG STORE
DR. AND MRS. GEORGE BONNELL JR.
MR. AND MRS. PAUL R. CARUTHERS
COMMERCIAL PASTE COMPANY
MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL E. CORBIN
MR. AND MRS. FRANK G. CORBIN
DAWSON'S FOOD MARKET
DENIG JEWELERS
MR. AND MRS. FOREST DETRICK
EICHER INSURANCE AGENCY
MR. AND MRS. M. M. ELMERS
DR. AND MRS. HARRISON EVANS
FERTILENE CORPORATION
DR. AND MRS. CHARLES HARDING
HARDING SANITARIUM
MR. AND MRS. WARREN INSLEY
MR. AND MRS. G. C. JACOBS
HORACE W. JONES & CO.
MR. AND MRS. CARL KNOST
KNOWLTON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
KURTZMAN AUTO CLINIC
MR. AND MRS. CHARLES R. LEE
MR. AND MRS. NORMAN LEHMAN
LEMLEYS RED AND WHITE STORE
LONGS, THE VILLAGE DRUG STORE
RAY MASON
MAHLON MAXTON CHEVROLET
MR. AND MRS. F. C. MEDICK
MOODY'S PAPER STORE
MR. AND MRS. J. MAX MCCONAGHA
THE PEOPLES BROADCASTING CO.,WRFD
MR. AND MRS. HOWARD POTTER
POTTER LUMBER AND SUPPLY COMPANY
DR. AND MRS. L. C. SCATTERDAY
SNOUFFER CLEANERS
GEORGE A. SNYDER
STANDARD OIL COMPANY
GEORGE WING SR.
MAYOR AND MRS. GEORGE V. WING
WORTHINGTON FOODS
WORTHINGTON HARDWARE COMPANY
WORTHINGTON MOTOR SALES
WORTHINGTON NEWS
WORTHINGTON SAVINGS BANK
MR. AND MRS. ARNOLD M. WRIGHT
[Illustration]
NINETEEN
Sesquicentennial Committees
HONORARY CHAIRMAN -MAYOR GEORGE V. WING
GENERAL CHAIRMAN -VANCE M. SMITH
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
VANCE M. SMITH, CHAIRMAN, Paul Carruthers, Mrs. Sam Corbin, James Downing, Harry
Fraas, Mrs. Harry Fraas, Wilbur Gould, Mrs. William Guthery, Mrs. George Harding, Mrs.
Edwin Harman, Ray Heischman, Warren Insley, Rev. Paul Johnston, Charles Lee, Max Mc-
Conagha, Mahlon Maxton, Miss Helen B. Robinson, Mrs. James Tarbutton, Mrs. Wilbur Tidd,
Miss Elizabeth Thomas, William Utterback, George V. Wing, Mrs. Arnold Wright, Harry G.
Zimmerman.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
MAHLON MAXTON, CHAIRMAN, Charles Lee Co-Chairman, Allen Bullar, Paul Carruthers,
Sam Corbin, Norman Lehman, Willard Loos, Abner Pinney, Howard Potter, George Wing.
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Helen B. Robinson, Chairman, Mrs. James Tarbutton, Co-Chairman.
PAGEANT DIVISION
MRS. WILBUR TIDD, CHAIRMAN, Donavin Moore, Co-Chairman, Carl Braley, Mrs. Carl
Braley, Ronald Carmichael, Frank Corbin, Mrs. Frank Corbin, Jack Cullen, Dr. Alton Day,
Hugh Flaherty, Mrs. Hugh Flaherty, Mrs. John Hildreth, Robert Hyde, Mrs - Clarence James, Mrs.
L. E. Law, Mrs. Roy McCauley, Mrs. Eleanor McMannus, Miss Evelyn Meyers, Mrs. Morris L.
Miller, Mrs. Joseph Potter, Richard Savage, Al Shirk, Quent Williams, Mrs. Quent Williams,
Mrs. C. M. Winter, Mrs. Clay Young, George Wing, Sr.
WINDOW DISPLAY DIVISION
MRS. WILLIAM GUTHERY, CHAIRMAN, Mrs. George Harding, Co-Chairman, Clyde Bachelor,
Lawrence Brown, Mrs. John Caren, Mrs. Gilbert Coddington, Mrs. Forest Detrick, John Gilbert,
Mrs. Carl Hutchinson, Carl Knost, Don Lawless, Mrs. Charles Lee, Mrs. Norman Lehman,
Thomas Lemley, Carl Long, Gerald Lord, Mrs. Willard Loos, Max McConagha, Mrs. Elsie J.
McLeod, Mrs. Frank Medick, Mrs. Charles Moody, Miss Ruth Potter, Mrs. Abner Pinney, Mark
Russell, Mrs. Mark Russell, Miss Deloris Smothers, Ray Snouffer, Elmer Snouffer, H. A. Stitiimel,
Lemuel Wade, Mrs. Robert Watts, Mrs. Charles Wing, Mrs. Arnold Wright.
HISTORIC TOURS DIVISION
MRS. SAM CORBIN, CHAIRMAN, Mrs. Arnold Wright CO-Chairman, Mrs. Timothy Arm-
strong, Mrs. Harold Buell, Mrs. Walter Brahm, Mrs. Joseph Buckwalter, Miss Myrna Cox, Mrs,
Harold Crow, Mrs. Wayne Dornbirer, Mrs. Lee Garver, Mrs. Carl Gay, Miss Ruth Griswold,
Miss Florence Hendee, Mrs. John Henderson, Mrs. Robert Harrison, Mrs. Robert Hill, Mrs.
William V. Lewis, Mrs. 1. C. Lowman, Mrs. Harold McCord, Mrs. Ezra McCulloch, Mrs. Wil-
liam Mackay, Mrs. Dow Nelson, Mrs. William Owens, Mrs, Abner Pinney, Miss Helen Robinson,
Mrs. Gordon Silcott, Mrs. Vance Smith, Miss Alice Stein, Mrs. Ann Warner, Miss Berniece
Warner, Mrs. Robert Watts, Miss Elrna Whitney, Mrs. Tudor Willson, Mrs. George Wing.
HOME COMING DAY COMMITTEE
REV. PAUL JOHNSTON CHAIRMAN, Rev. Harold Buckey, Rev. Harold Gray, Rev. Harris
J. Mowry.
SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE
PAUL R. CARRUTHERS, CHAIRMAN, Wilbur A. Gould, Co-Chairman, Harry G. Zimmerman,
Co-Chairman, Pearl H. Allerton, William M. Cooper, Mrs. Porter J. Darby, Forrest R. Detrick,
Miss Myla Griswold, Dean Huff, Robert B. Kerschbaum, Carl Knost, Karl J. Krug, Richard B.
Morgan, Frank H. Sargent, Elmer S. Snouffer, Rex S. Springer, Robert Tharp, L. C. Wade, Mrs.
William L. Wayt, Charles D. Wing.
SCHOOLS COMMITTEE
RAY HEISCHMAN, CHAIRMAN, Miss Elizabeth Thomas, Co-Chairman, Howard Andreas,
Mrs. James Belt, Mrs. Mary Hamilton, Mrs. Dale Linnabarry, Frank Lowry, Mrs. C. D. McCall,
Mrs. Abner Pinney, Mrs. Stephen Pollis, Miss Mary White, Mrs. Robert Wills, Glenn Williams.
PUBLICITY COMMITTEE
MAX MCCONAGHA, CHAIRMAN, Mrs. Edwin Harman, Co-Chairman, William Arter, Joseph
Bradshaw, James Downing, Mrs. James Downing, Warren Insley, Mrs. Warren Insley, Mrs.
Harry T. Krause, Charles Moody, John Young.
HOSPITALITY AND TICKET COMMITTEE
HARRY W. FRAAS, CHAIRMAN, Mrs. Harry W. Fraas, Co-Chairman, M. R. Anderson, Mrs.
M. R. Anderson, J. D. Cummings, Mrs. J. D. Cummings, B. M. Dorsh, Mrs. B. M. Dorsh,
Mrs. Marie Moore, Walter C. Wagner, Mrs. Walter C. Wagner, Warren G. Weiler, Mrs.
Warren G. Weiler, Frank C. Willson, Mrs. Frank C. Willson, Linton A. Wood, Mrs. Linton A.
Wood, Frank Verhoek, Mrs. Frank Verhoek.

WORTHINGTON
SESQUICENTENNIAL
OCTOBER 5-11, 1953
1953
AN
HISTORICAL
SKETCH
OF
WORTHINGTON
[Illustration]
AN
HISTORICAL
SKETCH
OF
WORTHINGTON
1803 - 1953
[Illustration]
A Glimpse of the Worthington Business District in 1850
[Illustration]
Main Street -Still Horse and Buggy Days
TWO
An Historical Sketch
of
Worthington
THE VILLAGE of Worthington located on the banks of the Olentangy River ten
miles north of the center of Columbus is steeped in the historical and traditional
lore of the Northwest Territory. James Kilbourne is the central figure in the be-
ginning and early growth of the village. Kilbourne and his friend Nathaniel Little
traveled in the spring and summer of 1802 over the section of the northwest territory
to be known as Ohio from Marietta on the Ohio River through Cincinnati, Chilli-
cothe, Circleville, Zanesville and Franklinton to the spot where our village now
stands. They were impressed by the beauty of the spot and the extreme fertility of
the surrounding country side. They returned in early fall to Granby, Connecticut and
Kilbourne reported their findings in these words -quote- "In one place I saw one
thousand acres of the best clear meadow land I ever saw in any place whatever.
Plums and crabapples are abundant - the plums are very palatable also quantities
of grapevines. We found black walnut, hickory, ash, honey locust, hackberry, white-
wood etc. which never grows on any but first rate land. The only drawback is ague
fever which makes it sickly to a considerable degree." Slavery was forever forbidden
from what was to be the state of Ohio in November 1802. Immediately following in
December, 1802, the Scioto Land Company, a group of forty men headed by Kil-
bourne was organized and decided to buy this land. They bought 16,000 acres of land
located in what is now Clinton and Sharon townships as well as some in Delaware
County for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre making the total cost twenty
thousand dollars. Each member paid five hundred dollars for which he received a
town lot of 3/4 of an arce and a farm of 98 3/4 acres.
THE COMPANY carefully planned their village on paper before starting for
their new home. They decided on two north-south roads and one east-west road.
One of the north-south roads was named the Whetstone River Road after the river
by the same name. It is now called the Olentangy River Road again after the same
river by the same name. The other north-south road was first called the Main Road,
then the Northern Turnpike and now High Street. The east-west road was called
first State Road, then the Post Road, because it was to be used as a mail route from
Baltimore, Maryland to St. Louis, Missouri and now is called Granville Road or
route 161. At the intersection of Main and State Roads, four village lots were set
aside for the village green. The green was entirely surrounded by maple trees. There
were one hundred sixty lots platted as the village bounded on the north by North
Street, the south by South Street, the east by Morning Street and the west by Evening
Street. Our New England forefathers were so foresighted that they set aside one
hundred acres on the north side of State Road west of Evening Street for public
school purposes and one hundred acres on the south side of the same road for the
use of the Episcopal Church. These two farms still exist as such and are being used
by the church and the community for public schools.
IN SEPTEMBER 1803, eleven families left their Connecticut homes for their new
Ohio homes. The family names are recognizable in our community today. The
heads of the families as well as 4 men unmarried were James Kilbourne, Abner P.
Pinney, Adna Bristol, Wm. Thompson, Zophart Topping, Glass Cochran, Israel P.
Case, Ezra Griswold, Alexander Morrison Jr. and Levi Pinney. James Kilbourne
was the leader of the group but he and his wife Lucy Fitch Kilbourne were forced
to stop a week in Washington County, Pennsylvania where their sixth child, a daugh-
ter named Orrel was born. They remained only ten days in their covered wagon
before starting on the road again. Ezra Griswold and his wife Ruth with their seven
THREE
children arrived first at their new home on October 29, 1803. The village was officially
named Worthington at a Christmas party held in the school-church building on
December 26, 1803. The entire community was present. Ten toasts were given by
different members of the community concerning the good things of their new home.
James Kilbourne gave a toast saying - quote "The name of our town shall be called
Worthington to perpetuate the name of our worthy friend and benefactor - Thomas
Worthington." Thomas Worthington later became a State Senator and the Governor
of Ohio.
WHEN THE eleven families arrived, twelve log cabins had been completed by
advance men from Connecticut. One of these cabins larger than the rest located
on the northeast of the village green was used as the school house during the week,
as a community house on week ends and as the Episcopal Church on Sundays. Epis-
copal Services were held in this building on the first Sunday after the arrival of the
settlers.
[Illustration]
Main Street
[Illustration]
West State Street - A View Across the Olentangy Valley
FOUR
THE CHURCHES
Even though the community held its first church service on the first Sunday after
their arrival, the First Articles of Agreement for the Organization of the Protestant
Episcopal St. John's Church in Worthington and Parts Adjacent were executed on
February 6, 1804. The congregation of the church met in the log cabin already
described and from 1811-1831, they met in the second floor of the academy building.
James Kilbourne ministered to the church for several years. Philander Case became
the Rector of the Church in 1817 and even though he became the first Episcopal
Bishop of Ohio in 1818, he served the St. John parish until 1823. George Griswold,
[Illustration]
St. John's Episcopal Cburch - Oldest West of the Allegbeny Mountains
son of Ezra, kept a day book for the Inn of which we will hear later has several
entries in his book concerning the church. The first entry was dated September 25,
1827 and the last entry dated January 23, 1831 read - quote "St. John's Church memo
- we held services in the new church for the first time." The original church build-
ing has been changed but little - an addition was added to the east of the building
to make the chancel deeper and the tower was restored like the original in 1930.
The beautiful building still stands on its original site inviting the community to its
cool, quiet, beautiful and sacred interior.
The Worthington Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1808. Very
little is known concerning the church until 1811 when a fervent camp meeting was
held on a factory site on what is now west South Street. From then on services were
held in homes, barns and in the woods until the first church was built in 1823. The
first church was located on the corner of what is now Hartford and South Streets.
The building faced South. The second church building was built on High Street
near where the present church now stands. It was completed in 1864. The present
beautiful, modern building was completed February 7, 1926. Among the many noted
ministers of this active church are Charles Elliott, Stephen M. Merrell and Dr. Frank
Gunsaulus. Dr. Gunsaulus was such a forceful preacher that hundreds were often
turned away from the Sunday service. Dr. Gunsaulus later became President of
Armour Institute, Chicago, Illinois.
FIVE
[Illustration]
Worthington Methodist Church - Old Seminary Building to the Right
[Illustration with caption]
The Old Presbyterian Church Worthington O,
SIX
One June 18, 1816 eleven people met in the old Peter Barker house on North
High Street and organized the Presbyterian Church of Worthington. Services were
held in many places as the upper room of the academy building (rented for twenty
dollars per year), in a blacksmith shop and in a small school building. The first
church building was completed in April 1830. In Highland Hurlburd's, the first
pastor's notes-we read-quote "The Presbyterians are building a house which is
small and plain and looks like a barn." The building was remodeled in 1842 when
a steeple and balcony were added. The church has had many and noted pastors, some
of the most noted are - the Rev. James Hogue, who was the first Synodical Head of
the Presbyterian Churches in Ohio and Thomas Woodrow, grandfather of former
President Woodrow Wilson. The present beautiful church building of true New
England architecture was dedicated on January 2, 1927. An educational wing con-
taining many Sunday School rooms as well as a wonderful family room named the
Woodrow Room was completed and dedicated in October 1952..
In 1897 a group organized the Bethel A.M.E. church. The meetings were held
in the homes of members and then in the town hall. In 1914 the present structure
was completed and the name of the organization became the St. John A.M.E. Church.
The last beautiful church to be added to our village is the Seventh Day Adventist
Church located on Griswold Street. The congregation was organized as the Worthing-
ton Seventh Day Adventist Church on July 17, 1920. Dr. George T. Harding Jr.
was the instigator of its organization. Services were held for the first time in the
new church on Thanksgiving Day 1951. The authentic New England architecture of
the church building makes it a beautiful and fitting addition to our village.
The small village and the present growing community has always been known
for its religious feelings and faithfulness. The five churches have given the village
this serenity and security in the past, the present and we anticipate the future.
THE SCHOOLS
Education was uppermost in the minds of our forefathers. A subscription school
was started in the winter months of 1803 in the cabin mentioned before. Thomas
Phelps was the teacher for a few weeks but spring work began and Miss Clarissa
Thompson became the first real teacher of the school. Later a frame school building
was built to the northeast edge of the village green. The present town hall was built
for a school building in 1856. A two story four room brick building was built on the
northeast side of the village green in 1875. In 1893 a one floor plan high school
building was added to the school system to the east of the elementary building and
on the same plat. In January 1915 a new high school building was opened on the
acreage set aside by our forefathers for public school purposes. This building with
much modernizing is our present junior high school. The beautiful elementary build-
ing located on the original elementary building plat was completed in 1938. The
New England architecture of this building gives to the center of the village a striking
grandeur that our community thoroughly enjoys. The acreage to the west is being de-
veloped into a beautiful campus for the junior high school already mentioned and the
new senior high school now being built. The central portion of the building which
mainly houses the academic program of the school, the library and the cafeteria is now
completed. The health and art wing including a gymnasium seating 2400 is in the pro-
cess of being constructed. Soon another wing for vocational and home arts laboratories
will be added. The village looks to the future with this acreage as well as a campus
for the educational needs of the community, the grounds are being carefully and
beautifully laid out for a general recreational program. The early fathers surely
planned well for the public schools of a growing community a century and a half
later.
SEVEN
[Illustration]
Worthington High Scbool
[Illustration]
The Worthington Female Seminary - Built in 1842
EIGHT
HIGHER EDUCATION IN WORTHINGTON
The history of education in our village would not be complete without the story
of higher education. Colonel Kilbourne went before the legislature in 1807 and re-
quested a charter for the Worthington ACADEMY. The charter was granted in
February 1808. A two story brick building was constructed on the land to the north-
east of the village square approximately where our library now stands. The academy
was so successful that in 1819, the assembly granted permission for the academy to
become a college with the right of granting degrees. Reverend Philander Chase who
had been the Principal of the Academy became the first President of Worthington
College. Reverend Chase became the Episcopal Bishop in 1820 and his son Philander
Chase Jr. became president of the college but lacking the prestige of his noted
father, the Worthington College closed in 1823. Salmon P. Chase, nephew of Bishop
Chase and later Governor of Ohio and then the Chief justice of the Supreme Court
of the United States was a student at the college from 1820-1822.
The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio started a Theological Seminary by an act of the
legislature in 1824. Bishop Chase was made President. The Seminary was located
in a large house which is located on Lincoln Avenue. The Seminary grew even though
there were never many theological students for example out of an enrollment of five
hundred only two were students of theology. In 1826 the Seminary became Kenyon
College and was moved to Gambier, Ohio in 1828.
Quoting from the newspaper dated October 14, 1830 we read - quote "By and
with the consent of the Reformed Medical Society of the United States, the new
Reformed Medical Institution has been located in Worthington, an interesing and
flourishing town on the Whetstone River eight miles north of Columbus on the
Northern Tunrpike. There will be attached to the institution a dispensary for analyz-
ing and preparing for Vegetable Medicine." The college was located in the academy
building. Due to many unfavorable comments from non-resident groups concerning
the type of botanical medicine, the school closed it doors in 1840 and was established
in Cincinnati in 1842. The Cincinnati College of Medicine is still flourishing. Mr. I.
G. Jones, the Father of Elizabeth Jones Deshler donor of our library building, was
the first Dean of the medical college. In June 1953 - a plaque commemorating the
founding of this college was placed in the library by the National Society of Vege-
tative Medicine.
The Worthington Female Seminary was officially opened in the present Masonic
Lodge building in 1838. The seminary was the first legally authorized female seminary
of the Methodist Church in Ohio. The Methodist Conference had the seminary build-
ing which is now known as the seminary apartments built in 1842. The seminary was
very succesful often having as many as one hundred and fifty students. The seminary
was closed in 1867 when the church gave its financial assistance to the coeducational
college located in Delaware and known as Ohio Wesleyan University.
The Ohio Central Normal School was opened in the seminary building in 1871.
Kindergarten, primary, intermediate and secondary teachers were trained here. Again
the school was very successful with as many as one hundred students. With the
closing of the doors of the Normal School in 1880, any further attempts to operate
an institution of higher learning in Worthington proper came to an end.
However the Pontifical College of Josephinum was moved from Columbus in
1929 to its present location two miles north of Worthington on High Street. The
Josephinum College began in Columbus in 1894. The present large and beautiful
college building was completed in 1931.
NINE
SESQUICENTENNIAL WEEK
Program
Monday - October 5
ARMED SERVICES DAY
Flag Raising Ceremonies 10:00 A.M.
Historical Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Evening Pageant-The Whetstone Venture
Tuesday - October 6
CLUBS' DAY
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Music Club Program (Elementary School Auditorium) 8:00 P.M.
No Admission charge.
Wednesday - October 7
FRATERNAL ORDERS DAY
Lodge Rooms Open-Historic Masonic Building builded 1820.
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Evening Pageant
Thursday - October 8
SCHOOLS' DAY
Visitation and Exhibits.
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Friday - October 9
BUSINESS DAY
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Saturday - October 10
GOOD NEIGHBORS' DAY
Homecoming Visitors
Historic Tours 1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
Evening Pageant
Sunday - October 11
HOME COMING DAY
Homecoming Services in all Churches
Lecture - Pageant Grounds - 2:30 P.M.
Speaker - Grove Patterson - Editor of the Toledo Blade.
WINDOW DISPLAY OF ANTIQUES IN ALL STORES
DURING THE ENTIRE WEEK
TEN
THE WHETSTONE VENTURE
A Pageant
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY FRANK CORBIN
Synopsis hearted community-wide effort in pre-
senting this tribute to the men and
A panorama of the heritage that is women who founded this village one
Worthington's will be enacted on the hundred and fifty years ago.
Village Commons on the night of Octo- The picture is drawn with the bold
ber 5th, 7th, and 10th, at 8:00 P.M. strokes of the landscape artist, rather
The dramatic chronicle will portray than the detail of the miniature painter,
the history of our town, from its founding to catch the scope and breadth of the
in 1803 by Colonel James Kilbourne, or- town's unique history. The employment
ganizer and leader of the Scioto Com- of narration, interwoven with choral
pany, who led one hundred men, women, speech and song, is used in the presen-
and children into the wilderness of the tation of the story.
Ohio Country to lay the cornerstone of Frank Corbin, in writing this historical
the edifice that today is Worthington, and chronicle, has chosen to call it "The
here set alight the brave little cultural Whetstone Venture." While the original
spark that was to wax and strengthen un- group of pioneers called themselves "The
til its flame became a beacon dispelling Scioto Company," their venture was not
the illiteracy of the frontier. The town on the Scioto, but on the Whetstone
of Worthington was for years a veritable River, the name which our forefathers
Athens of the wilderness, and one of the gave to the pleasant stream which we
important cultural, educational, ecclesias- know today by its original Indian name,
tic, and industrial centers of the new Olentangy.
State - an achievement unique in the Emphasis will be placed on those three
annals of Ohio. great symbols in the founding of Worth-
Important events in the town's first ington: The Cross, The School, and The
century will be depicted: the arrival of Flag. The theme underlying the entire
the pioneers, the founding of the first production is derived from the founda-
Church, the first school, the first wedding, tion upon which Worthington was built;
the first Fourth of July, Muster Day on first, our fore-fathers' firm belief in God,
the Village Green, the Indian scare of second, their passionate love of country,
1812, President Monroe's visit in 1817, and third, their earnest desire for learning
and our forefathers' firm conviction in the and enlightenment.
ideals of liberty and human freedom, To some extent, the story of Worthing-
culminating in the savage attrition and ton is also the story of our nation-one
sacrifice of 1861-1865. cannot be separated from the other.
A cast of over one hundred, men, Hence, "The Whetstone Venture" at-
women and children will be seen in such tempts to integrate our own particular
varied roles as Shawnee Indian braves, thread of history into the warp and woof
explorers, frontiersmen, pioneer mothers, of the national epic. Recognizing, how-
militiamen, fugitive slaves, abolitionists, ever, that if the town of Worthington
and Civil War belles. Some of the his- could have resulted only because it has
toric characters represented will include been a part of a great and mighty nation,
General William Henry Harrison, Presi- conversely the nation has become great
dent James Monroe, Colonel James Kil- because it is the aggregate of many,
bourne, Ezra Griswold, and Bishop Phil- many Worthingtons. The power and the
ander Chase. Even Uncle Sam will be glory that is the United States of Amer-
present to help us commemorate our Ses- ica, its principles of Liberty, Equality, and
quicentennial anniversary. justice, are but the reflection of the virtue
The Worthington Players, with Don and the courage of its people.
Moore as General Chairman of the Com- The story of Worthington is an inte-
mittee, form the nucleus of a whole- gral part of that greater narrative.
ELEVEN
THE LIBRARY
In the same school-church-community cabin on December 23, 1803, Dr. Jonas
Stansberry from whom the Scioto Land Company purchased a part of the 16,000
acres established a small library of his own books. A quotation from the second
article of the By-Laws reads -quote "The Library shall always be kept in Worthing-
ton and each proprietor, a paying member, shall have the right to draw two volumes
whenever there are books enough-but if not-each proprietor shall draw but
one volume and the book at the time of the drawing shall be put up to the highest
bidder and the money bid paid down (if required by the meeting). No proprietor
shall draw books at any time without bidding or paying at least two cents for the
benefit of the library." It is thought that two cent fines per day for the use of over
due books from libraries originated from this article. The Stansberry was the first
library organized in Ohio. The books of this library were sold at auction and there-
fore could never be located at least as a unit. We have had a library in our village
from that day to this with only a few years at different times when library facilities
were dormant. The school board sponsored a library in the village from 1854-1860.
After the Civil War a Harpers Library of two hundred volumes was located in the
village postoffice. Since 1897 a community library has been in existence in the village.
In 1924 our library became the Worthington School District Library and so exists
today. Our present building was given to the village by Mrs. Elizabeth Jones Deshler,
the grand-daughter, of our illustrious James Kilbourne. The central portion of the
building was built in 1927 -the north and south wings were added in 1931. The
building is known as the James Kilbourne Memorial Library. The Community uses
the 23,000 volume library to such a degree that during 1953, plans to increase the size
of the building to house at least 63,000 volumes are well under way. It is believed
that the building will be enlarged in 1955.
THE MASONIC LODGE
The first eight families arriving in Worthington brought with them in 1803, a
charter from the Masonic Grand Lodge of Connecticut. They established immediately
the New England Masonic Lodge Number Four.
[Illustration]
The Ohio Masonic Charter was re-
ceived in 1808. The lodge building on
High Street was built in 1820. It is in
a fine state of preservation and but very
little change has been made in the build-
ing in these one hundred and thirty-three
years. The original altar with some of
its original decorations is still in use.
James Kilbourne was the first Worthy
Master. Around the corner from the
lodge on West New England Avenue is
a beautiful old home known as "the old
Snow house." The first Grand Chapter
of Royal Arch Masonry was organized
in this house on October 21, 1816. The
New England Masonic Lodge Number
Four is still a flourishing and active
organization. They still use the building
which is the oldest building used con-
tinuously for Masonic Lodge purposes
west of the Allegheny Mountains.
TWELVE
THE GRISWOLD INN
[Illustration]
The brick Inn built by Ezra Griswold in 1811. The bricks some of which were
made on the site were mostly brought down from Delaware on the Whetstone River.
The old brick building is located north of the village green on the east side of High
Street. The L shaped building with few exterior but many interior changes still
stands and now has a number of apartments within its walls. As an Inn the first floor
of the south wing which faces the village green contained the offices and the lobby.
The second floor of this wing was the grand ballroom with wonderful, large fireplaces
at either end. It was in this wing that the life of the village business, political and
social centered. The north wing along High Street beyond the archway was the
kitchen and dining rooms. The archway which is now bricked in was the gateway
through which the stage coaches drove to deposit their notable travellers. Such
travellers were President James Monroe, Charles Dickens and John Chapman
(Johnny Appleseed). Ezra Griswold turned the management of the inn over to his
son George. George was an original but an accurate bookeeper. A direct quotation
from his second day book dated 1823 reads quote-"July 15, 1823 A Towers-He
worked nearly all day but it rained and thundered nearly two hours. July 17, 1823 B.
Ball-You still have my plow but I suppose you do not use it steady. July 29, 1823
B. Ball You still have my plow." The Inn was used for many years and it is inter-
esting to note that no other but the Griswold family has ever owned it. One hundred
and forty two years since the Inn was built and Miss Ruth Griswold, the fourth
generation from Ezra Griswold still lives in the building.
THE TOWN HALL
The building we so often speak of as the Town Hall was built by the school
board for a four room school in 1856. It was sold by the board to the town in 1870
for $2500.00 The lower room has been used as a hall since. It was in this hall that
many New England town meetings were held. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows
Lodge (I.O.O.F.) bought the upper floor of the lodge hall in 1865. The lodge was
organized in April 16, 1855.
THE MEMORIAL BUILDING
In order to commemorate the heroic deeds of the men and women who served
from Sharon Township in World Wars I and II, the township voted millage to buy
the beautiful Wright home on East Granville Road for a Memorial. The building
to be used by the community for all types of meetings both for social and community
problems. The Memorial Building was purchased by the community in December
1946.
THIRTEEN
[Illustration]
A Shady Walk Through the Public Square
[Illustration]
Another Glimpse of Main Street and the Business Section
FOURTEEN
Interesting Details
Concerning the Village ...
West South Street, which is at present such a beautiful residential section was
at one time factory row. James Kilbourne was instrumental in organizing as well
as helping to bring several industries to Worthington. In 1811 Kilbourne organized
the Worthington Manufacturing Company of which he was the president and general
agent. The company produced woolen cloth which was sold to the government for
the army of the northwest then fighting on the Ohio frontier. Besides the woolen
factory, a tannery, a shoe shop, a cabinet shop, a grist mill and a hat factory all
operated on South Street.
The first frame house in the village was built by Ezra Griswold in 1805. It was
located across the street from where the inn now stands.
The first brick house was built by James Kilbourne in 1808. The Corbin Funeral
Home is a part of this old building.
In 1811 James Kilbourne started the first newspaper titled "The Western Intelli-
gencer". It became a part of what is now The Ohio State journal in 1814.
A mud road connected the village to Columbus until about 1840. A corduroy
road was built that year. The corduroy road was changed to a plank road in 1850.
A gravel road was built about 1875. The paved road was completed in 1921.
The Columbus, Delaware and Marion Interurban Line connected the village
to Columbus for a good many years. Service began in 1902 and was discontinued
in August 1933. The Ohio Railway Museum is located on the right of way of the
interurban line along Proprietor's Road.
A horse car line was to connect Worthington and Westerville but was completed
only as far as the general store in Flint and ran from 1899 to 1902.
The oldest tombstone found in the St. John's cemetery behind the church is that
of Captain Abner Pinney who died in 1804.
The double wedding of Polly Morrison and Abner P. Pinney, Charlotte Beach
and Levi Pinney was the first wedding solemnized in the village. The wedding took
place in the church-school building on February 10, 1804.
The back wing of the Presbyterian Church is the original church building turned
at right angles to its original position. It is brick encased and forms a Sunday School
room and the church offices. Some of the original timbers are still in use in this por-
tion of the building.
The pews in the Episcopal Church are the original ones. The carved black walnut
choir stalls are also the original ones but are not in the former position. The first
church bell rang from the St. John steeple on Christmas Day 1833.
Telephone communications between Worthington and Columbus were com-
pleted Saturday May 23, 1881.
Gas street lights were discontinued in Worthington in 1917.
The history of our village is exciting, entrancing. The growth from the small
New England village with its pure democratic government as carried on in its town
meetings to the beautiful metropolitan suburb with almost every convenience is
thrilling a'lmost beyond belief. We leave our heritage from the past, the beauties and
conveniences of the present for future generations to build as they deem wise. May
God grant them faith and power to carry on.
FIFTEEN
[Illustration]
| |
| | 3
| | 2
|-----------------------------------| |-----------------------------------|
| NORTH STREET (VILLAGE ST) |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| |---------------| | | | | | | |
| CLEARVIEW AVE | | | /-----------| | | |
| |---------------| | | | |HARTFORD CT| | | |
| | | | | | \-----------| | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 21 | | | | | |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
4 | STAFFORD AVE (MARBLE ST) (BLANFORD ST) |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
| | | | | | |V| | |
| | |S| | | |E| | |
| | |C| |M| |R| | |
| | |O| |A| |N| | |
| | |T| 20 |I| 19 |O| | |
| | |T| |-----|N|-----| |N| | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| | |S| | |---|S|---| | |S| | |
| | |T| | | |T| | | 18 |T| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
---| |---------------| |---------| |---| |---| |---------| |---------------| |---
GRANVILLE ROAD (STATE ST)
---| |---------------| |---------| |---| |---| |---------| |---------------| |---
| | | | 15 | | | | | | 16 17 | | | | 1
| | |U| | | | | | | |H| | |
|E| |N| | |---| |---| | |A| |M|
|V| |I| | | |R| |O|
|E| |O| |-----| |-----| |T| |R|
|N| |N| 14 | | |F| |N|
|I| | | 13 | | |O| |I|
|N| |S| | | |R| |N|
|G| |T| 12 | | |D| |G|
| | | | | | | | | |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
5 | NEW ENGLAND AVE (GRANBY ST) (BERLIN ST) |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
| | | | 11 | | | | | |
|S| |O| |H| 10 |S| |S|
|T| |X| |I| |T| |T|
|R| |F| |G| |R| |R|
|E| |O|---------------|H| |E| |E|
|E| |R (SHORT ST) | |E| |E|
|T| |D|---------------|S| |T| |T|
| | | | |T| 9 | | | |
| | |S| | | | | | |
| | |T| 7 | | | | | |
| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |---------------| |
6